WSC: Team Norway defends World Championship title

Norway is the winner of today’s Team competition in Planica (SLO), defending its World Championship title successfully.

The Norwegians were already in the lead after the Ski Jumping round at the LH/4x5km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2023.

In snowy conditions Joergen Graabak (120 m), Jarl Magnus Riiber (139 m), Espen Andersen (126 m) and Jens Luraas Oftebro (127.5 m) showed the strongest team performance on Planicas HS138, including a new hill record set by Riiber.

Rank 2 was taken by team Austria with Martin Fritz (120 m), Stefan Rettenegger (121 m), Lukas Greiderer (130 m) and Johannes Lamparter (130 m), who went into the race 20 seconds after the Norwegians.

Team Germany placed third with 455.3 points, after Johannes Rydzek (115 m), Eric Frenzel (123.5 m), Vinzenz Geiger (125.5 m) and Julian Schmid (137 m), showed a mixed performance on the hill. They will therefore start the race 23 seconds after the leaders from Norway.

In the end it turned out to be a race to remember.

Eric Frenzel, Germany's first runner, closed the gap to Espen Andersen and handed over first to Vinzenz Geiger with a 0.6 second lead, while Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro took to the track, putting the two strongest runners in the World Cup head-to-head.

Meanwhile, France put on a fantastic race with Matteo Baud and Gerard Antoine getting closer and closer to Austria's second runner Lukas Greiderer, leaving the two separated by just 5 seconds before the next exchange.

Germany's Johannes Rydzek stayed close to Norway's Joergen Graabak, who had regained the lead for Norway after 12.5km, while Austria's Stefan Rettenegger and France's Laurent Mühlethaler came within 4 seconds of the leaders.

Thus, four nations went together in the last exchange, so that a close fight for the medals was to be expected.

Jarl Magnus Riiber and Julian Schmid were driven on by Johannes Lamparter, who set the pace and threw France out of the medal ranks as Antoine Gerard delivered a superb race but in the end couldn't keep up with the high pace and fell behind.

Riiber, Schmid and Lamparter went into the final lap together.
Just outside the stadium, the Norwegian launched an attack that the others couldn't follow, securing Norway's next gold medal in the World Championships 2023. Schmid (+9 sec) defended silver for Germany just ahead of Lamparter (+9.3 sec), who took bronze for Austria.

Ski Jumping Results: WSC, Team LH/4x5km, Men, Planica, 1.3.23
Overall Results: WSC, Team LH/4x5km, Men, Planica, 1.3.23